An accidental ardour for horse lover

WHEN Sue Fraser turned her equine passion into artworks after she completed a visual arts degree following a horse riding accident, she never thought it would lead to her work featuring in a prestigious Craft NSW exhibition.

Despite having won a number of art awards across the Northern Rivers since 2001, Mrs Fraser, who has ridden and been involved with horses her whole life, said she was thrilled to have her works included in the Art and the Horse exhibition.

"I was amazed when they rang me and asked me to be involved in the exhibition," she said.

"They said they were looking for someone who made horses, to coincide with the Chinese Year of the Horse, and found my website."

Celebrating 2014, the Chinese year of the horse, the Art and the Horse exhibition features numerous ceramic equine inspired works by guest ceramicist Mrs Fraser and other members of Craft NSW.

From her Chilcotts Creek studio, Mrs Fraser has created 15 horses for the exhibition, each an individual with its own colours and features.

"Horses are auspicious symbols of economic prosperity, vehicles of conquest, messengers and mounts of the gods as well as visions of beauty.

"Their spirit crosses cultural divides."

Her ceramic creations, which are collected around the world, draw on her time as an artist in residence in Jingdezhen, China in 2008, where she was inspired by the expressive Tang Dynasty sculptures.

"My exposure to the art of China, particularly calligraphic painting styles and Tang Dynasty sculpture with its expressive nature and multiple meanings behind the hundreds of common motifs, stimulates my practice."